Although developments such as the drastic increase in the use of imprisonment and restrictions on parole suggest a new, harsher punitive era, Hamilton's empirical data based on examination of penal policies in Ireland, Scotland and New Zealand, suggests criminal justice and penal policies vary. This study is critical of the way in which punitiveness is currently measured by leading criminologists and demonstrates the utility of viewing criminal justice from the perspective of smaller jurisdictions.

Dr Claire Hamilton LLB. (Ling. Franc.); Barrister-at-Law; M.Litt; Dip EurCon in Human Rights; Diploma in Third Level Learning and Teaching practised as a barrister in criminal law until 2004 when she became a full time academic. She is currently a Lecturer in Criminology in the School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work in Queen's University Belfast.